Broken easy out removal with Alum.

way bad deal. call around a few machine shops, ask if they have a EDM machine, and then explain what you have, you may have to pull the head off, but someone who is good can remove it and not even hurt the threads.

as fas as drilling, the hardness is going to be the big issue, unless you can control the drill bit it is going to walk off to the side, then it really gets ugly..

did you drill thru the screw before you used the extractor? if not you will play hell drilling it or breaking it out with a chisel.

benn there done that, had the chunks of steel in my arms

Alum dissolves through an acidic process, nothing to do with galvanic action.

A sure way to get it out is to pull the head and take it to a shop that has EDM.

Screw extractors are not made to remove bolts that are corroded in place, they are to remove bolts that have sheared due to over tightening.

And I never call them Easy Outs, because there is nothing easy about them

This happened to me once and I was able to grind the hardend steel of the extractor out with a dremel roto tool and a couple of those little diamond tip bits with the ball shaped end.I dont know if there is Princess Auto where you live but you can get the bits really cheap there. GL.

KawasakiJockey wrote:

the way to get that out is to put a 4 or 6mm nut over the broken screw and extractor and then weld it from the inside of the nut. as it cools it should spin outta there. done it and it works.

I just read about doing this, but a nut that small? Can you really get in there to get a good weld? What if you weld a washer on the broken stud, then weld a bigger nut to the washer?

yeah, but its usually a tig or mig with small wire. You have to completely weld up the hole in the nut so that the heat penetrates the entire broken stud. A washer might be a pretty good idea.

If you have access to alum, why not try on a steel fastener in some scrap aluminum?

Bummer man.
Can't quite see from the picture, but sometimes it's possible to take the corner of a chisel and try to place it somewhere on the jagged edge of the ezout so that when you tap the chisel with a hammer the ez-out rotates clockwise enough to loosen it. It don't have to move very much.
Doesn't always work but it's something you have to try before you go taking the head off.

riverroad wrote:

Bummer man.
Can't quite see from the picture, but sometimes it's possible to take the corner of a chisel and try to place it somewhere on the jagged edge of the ezout so that when you tap the chisel with a hammer the ez-out rotates clockwise enough to loosen it. It don't have to move very much.
Doesn't always work but it's something you have to try before you go taking the head off.

My 2¢, Duck, I like your idea. It would be good for future ref as well. I just don't have a lot of confidence you will accomplish anything. riverroad's idea is good too if tool end is accessible. Don't use much impact, and be sure to use all three surfaces so you are walking around tool, tapping in different spin orientations. Spray the bejeezers out of it with PB before you try it, and maybe some heat.

It's hard to tell in the picture but it looks like it broke off leaving a jagged edge on top and on bottom. I wonder if you would carefully with a dremel and a small used up cut-off wheel deepen that groove so you can get a screw driver in there and see if you can back it out? I don't know if there's any chance of that working considering it's probably in there really tight but that's the only other idea I have.

I got it fixed. Used the rotary tool and small diamond engraving cutter to do most of the work. Patience was the required theme. After I had the broken easy out ground out, I continued to cut out most of the stuck screw. I took it to the threads and then used a tap to carefully clean the remaining screw out. At one point I thought I had the tap stuck when some of the old screw threads broke loose and bound the tap. Compressed air and a bit of back and forth got it out. I think I am back in business. The $25.00 I spent on a rotary tool, with a nice assortment of cutters, at Checker Auto, was well worth the price.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I experimented with the Alum. Went to the grocery store and bought a small container of Alum off the spice rack. I used the remaining part of the broken easy out and a piece of aluminum metal. Covered them with a paste of Alum and kept them moist for three days. The easy out did rust some. The aluminum just showed some discoloration. Nothing turned to mush. I don't think using Alum to eat away a broken easy out is a viable option.

awesome, glad it worked out with a minimum of $$ and effort I love it when a plan comes together.